英國：產假延長 企業叫苦不迭 Maternity leave shake up is a ￡2bn headache say businesses
Businesses in UK claim reforms of maternity leave which came into force yesterday will saddle them with a ￡2billion bill.
The period of paid leave to which new mothers are entitled has been extended from six to nine months.
Lobbyists say this is good for working women - but bad for business. The￡2billion cost will come from recruiting and training workers to cover new mothers' longer absences.
Family groups, however, welcomed Labour's extension of maternity leave, which they say will encourage women to stay home with their children for longer.
The Forum of Private Business said it was worried about the changes. Chief Executive Nick Goulding said: 'The extension of maternity leave is a major concern for many small businesses.
"It would appear that little thought has been given to the financial impact for businesses who can't easily find a replacement for the absent worker."
Small firms which employ fewer than 49 people account for 99 per cent of all UK businesses. Mr Goulding said these companies will struggle the most.
The average cost of filling a job vacancy is ￡10,000, according to recruitment consultancy Angela Mortimer.
This includes the 'hard' costs, such as placing a job advert, and the 'hidden' costs, such as time spent conducting interviews.
Ashley Williams, a director of Angela Mortimer, warned: "Business leaders are frequently unaware of the true costs involved in recruiting new people.
"Intangible costs such as time spent sifting through CVs need to be taken into account on top of the more obvious expenses."
英國產假改革方案於昨日生效，各企業叫苦不迭，稱這一改革會讓他們背上20億英鎊的負擔。
英國女員工的產假從之前的半年延長到了九個月。
遊說人士稱，這一新規定對女員工有利，但對企業不利。由於產假的延長，企業將在招聘及培訓“補缺”員工上花費20億英鎊的成本。
然而，一些家庭組織則對勞工部的此項改革表示歡迎，他們認爲這將使女性能有更多的時間在家照顧孩子。
私營企業論壇則對這一改革表示擔憂。論壇首席執行官尼克·高爾丁說：“產假的延長成爲很多小企業的一大擔憂。”
“這似乎沒有考慮到產假的延長將給那些難以找到替代者的企業所造成的經濟影響。”
僱傭人數少於49人的小企業佔英國所有企業的99%。高爾丁先生說，這些企業受到的影響將會最大。
據Angela Mortimer招聘諮詢公司介紹，填補一個職位空缺的平均成本爲1萬英鎊。
其中包括投放招聘廣告等“硬成本”，以及花在面試上的時間等“隱形成本”。
Angela Mortimer公司的一位主管艾什莉·威廉姆斯發出警告：“企業的領導常常意識不到招聘新員工所要花費的實際成本。”
“除了那些能看得見的成本外，花在篩選簡歷上的時間等無形成本也需要考慮在內。”
